Nomadic Hunter
by Andrithir
Summary: The suit changes the rules... it changes everything.
1. Shipping Out

**A/N: This was at the request of a guest.**

**Also with the **_**Normandy**_**, I'm just going to say it now, it's been combined with Ceph technology… artistic license spans on from there.**

**XXxxXX**

"_The suit, it evolves, it adapts, but most of all, it changes you."  
__**-Prophet to Delta Force Operatives**_

**XXxxXX**

**ARCTURUS STATION **

Everyone but him was dead. The Reapers had moved on, and all that remained were the floating dead, silent Reapers and molten debris of the station. His COMs were working, his suit's systems were up and running, but no one was in range. There wasn't even a distress beacon around, and even if there was, he wouldn't risk deploying.

Captain Jake "Nomad" Dunn was in the deep end of the gut pool, and he knew it. He wondered how long it would be until he died. At this rate, until Arcturus goes supernova. So long as the suit had a source of power, he would live. He didn't mind dying; he had lived more than long enough to not mind the idea of dying.

_What are we? Dead men walking, or post-human soldiers?_

The Nanosuit, it was a gift and a curse. He remembered when it was classified as NS1, now it was along the lines of NS3. The suit had gained schematics of all kinds of battle-armour, and upgraded itself. That was the beauty of nanotechnology, anyone still wearing a nanosuit would've evolved and adapted.

Dunn remembered how it all happened. He remembered how his body was torn to bloodied shreds on the shores of Lingshang. He remembered how he was dragged home, inside the suit, inside the bodybag.

He remembered the Ceph War, and how it made humanity all the more efficient at warfare. But still, to this day, so many files remained classified. Delta Force and their Nanosuits remained as an unconfirmed legend amongst the armed forces.

Humanity as whole was so advanced, even before the discovery of the Prothean Archives on Mars. And when the Shanxi Incident began, so many turians were slaughtered by Deltas. Nomad should know, because he was there.

Although vastly outnumbered, the small garrison at Shanxi managed to hold out, and send an SOS over Quantum Entanglement Communicators. Dunn and his team were the first to respond, and devastated the turians in every theatre of ground warfare.

Human-Turian relationship had been cold and frosty since then. Neither side had forgiven each other for what had happened. But Dunn had made his piece a long time ago. He had to be above these grudges, or else he wouldn't survive very long.

He remembered watching humanity enter the galactic stage, already other species were in fear of the race that managed to devastate the "best: fighting force in the galaxy.

Contingency plans by the human government were put into action; blank checks were issued to every Research and Development Division to improve technology. And in just a few short years, Humanity's economy rivalled the asari.

Dunn remembered it all, humanity's ascension to greatness. But for all that, for all their technological, scientific and military prowess, they lacked the strength to fight the Reapers. Sure humans had the higher Reaper kill count than any other species, but they couldn't play attrition against a faction that had spent millions of years gathering up strength.

Nomad breathed, and _felt_ the systems cycle through. He no longer needed a Heads-Up-Display, he no longer needed Augmented Reality, why? Because he was one with the suit, all the information was fed directly into his brain. Enemy positions and point of interests, he could all see them, but they weren't displayed on his HUD.

The suit did wonders, but at a cost. That was why it was never put into mass production. The cost was just too great.

His sensors began to ping; a ship was coming out of FTL, designated as friendly.

…

**ABOARD SSV **_**NORMANDY SR-2**_**, EN ROUTE TO ARCTURUS**

Commander Alice Shepard sat at her command seat and gazed at the star map. It provided real-time information on the Reaper's advance. Humanity was holding steady, but they were being slowly pushed back on every front. N7 Teams could only do so much, but the Reapers don't rely on logistics. They assimilate their enemies to do the fighting.

Alice held out her lightly tanned hand and casted an orb of biotic energy. It helped her keep calm, and not lose herself in her own sea of thoughts. She tucked a stray lock of her hair behind an ear as she turned her ocean blue eyes away from the console.

Admiral Steven Hackett had ordered her to go to Acturus station and retrieve someone invaluable to the war effort. Shepard was slightly sceptical. Arcturus had been destroyed by the Reapers; everyone aboard the station would've been killed. She doubted if anyone was still alive.

"Commander, we've arrived at Arcturus," Joker said, "looks like everything was torn to hell here."

Shepard pulled up the external view cameras and saw the once majestic station now in utter ruins. Barely any of the debris was unidentifiable.

"No offense to Hackett or anything, but I think he overestimated his guy," Joker added.

"I think so too," Alice pondered. "EDI, see if you can run a quick scan."

"Scanning," the AI complied, "I have detected one anomaly. Bringing up schematics now."

Shepard watched as a full colour holographic image appeared over the star map. The figure was humanoid, clad in moderate to heavy armour which also gave the notion of agility and speed. It looked like a cross between N7 Heavy Armour and a muscle suit of some kind. Surprisingly, it was devoid of any battle scars.

"Incoming hail," EDI said.

"Patch it through," Alice ordered.

The COM channels switched.

"This is Nomad, to _Normandy_, requesting extraction," a male voice said, he sounded young, maybe early thirties or late twenties. The holographic image on the display moved.

…

Alice watched Nomad used his biotics abilities to propel himself onto the _Normandy's_ main ramp. He stepped through the phase generator as the main hatch seal shut with a resounding thud. He was much larger than she thought he would be, standing at least a head taller than her. His walk also exuded military discipline and precision.

She couldn't help but be in awe and slightly afraid of him. She had a gut feeling that he was a hush-hush pet project by the Alliance. She'd never seen his armour model before; it followed the contours of the human muscular system, and was clad in armour plates. Shepard gazed at the blood red visor which seemed to be devoid of human emotion. She'd never seen anything like it, but her fast mind managed to come up with a rough conclusion that this was one of the Hunters of Shanxi. Alice had heard about them during her Academy days, men who tore across the battlefield without notice, before disappearing without a trace.

She had even come across their handy work during her early years as an N7 Operative. The heavily wounded batarian was rambling on about ghosts who could not be stopped, hunters who slayed dozens of krogans in mere seconds. What she remembered about the situation the batarian the most, was the arrow that pinned him to the _metal_ bulkhead.

Feats like that impressed her, but to have someone ramble on in fear, that was something that scared her.

A cold prickly sensation ran down her spine and across her bare arms as Nomad came closer. She could hear the dull thud of his boots and the taught sound of his suit; it made an icy hand grip her heart.

Shepard was still a human, she could still feel fear, but she had never felt fear like this in a very long time. The first time she felt it was thousands of batarians were gunning for her. Nomad was a hunter, he struck fear into the hearts of others.

"Ma'am," he saluted.

"At ease," Alice said, glad that her voice didn't betray her. "Identify."

Nomad let his arms drop by his sides. Shepard didn't fail to notice the menacing weapons that were clamped onto his back.

"Captain Jake Dunn, callsign Nomad," he said.

"Unit?"

"Classified, ma'am."

Alice frowned and tilted her head as she leaned against the requisition console.

"Are you in N7?"

"No ma'am," he answered, his tone unchanging.

Shepard could see Vega, Cortez and a few other Marines become slightly jumpy at the superhuman figure in front of them.

"What happened here?" she asked.

"Reaper overwhelmed us," Nomad said, "I tried to get people off the station, but there was just to many, the escape pods just got shot up the moment they launched."

Shepard was about to say something when the nearby console pinged.

"Commander," said EDI over the ship's COMs, "I have Admiral Hackett wishing to speak to you about our guest."

"Patch it through," Shepard ordered, moving around the bench to face the panel. Dunn followed her, and noticed her casual professionalism; it was most widespread amongst senior Naval and Air Force Officers.

"Commander Shepard," it was Hackett, praying for some good news, "Have you located the asset?"

_Asset? Since when do we call our people that?_ Alice wondered.

"Yes sir."

"Can I talk to him?"

Shepard waved Nomad over. As soon as he was within view, Hackett smiled in relief.

"Captain Dunn, good to see you're alive," the Admiral said genuinely.

"You too, sir," Nomad replied. "How are we doing?"

"Not good," Hackett said, shaking his head. "With every Reaper we kill, three more takes its place. We're being pushed back on all fronts."

"Deltas?" Dunn asked.

_Deltas… as in Delta Force? The Hunters are Deltas?_ Alice pondered. _Weren't all Special Forces merged into the N program, and all Tier Ones became N7s eventually?_

"Few casualties," Hackett answered, "I'm sending them to support faltering lines. Reapers have no logistics, no point trying to jump behind their lines."

Nomad gave a quick nod of acknowledgement. "Orders sir?"

Hackett looked at Shepard.

"Commander, I'm assigning Captain Dunn to you. Having a Delta may help even things out for you."

"Thank you sir."

"Hackett out."

The link was cut from the other end, and Shepard turned to face the blood red visor.

"Hungry?"

That was usually the prelude or forewarning that a superior officer would give to a subordinate when they were about to be interviewed.

"A bit, ma'am," Dunn answered. In truth, he was never really hungry, he could eat, but he rarely ate. The suit supported his body and made sure that it was in peak physical condition.

"Alright, we'll get something to eat after you get a quick check-up."

"Yes ma'am."

Alice led Nomad towards the elevators and entered the commands to get to deck 3. She noticed that Dunn was unnervingly quiet and still. He was the epitome of military professionalism. Shepard respected that, but knew that it could get in the way, she preferred it if her team could talk to her freely and without restriction. She respected Vega because he was forthcoming with what his thoughts were; even from day one he treated her like an equal, like a living breathing human.

Dunn's silence, it was hard to gauge him. Hell, she hadn't even seen his face yet.

**XXxxXX**

**A/N: I'll leave it there for now, but please review.**

**This takes place somewhere before the attack on the Citadel.**


	2. Settling In

**A/N: I exercise major artistic license here.**

**XXxxXX**

"_CELL skinned us… skinned us all. Symbiosis killed half of us off, the guys who were dependant on the suit… they all died. Except Nomad… he still had the suit, and he was fucking shit up in Lingshan."  
__**-Psycho**_

**XXxxXX**

**ABOARD SSV **_**NORMANDY SR-2**_**,**__**ENROUTE TO THE CITADEL**

If Doctor Chakwas was surprised to see a superhuman clad in pristine armour, she didn't show it. The elderly doctor had already motioned for Nomad to take a seat on one of the beds, while Shepard sat down on one of the empty desk chairs.

"Name please," Chakwas ordered.

"Captain Jake Dunn," Nomad replied. His synthesised voice did little to ease her nerves.

"Please remove your armour," the Doctor ordered as she moved towards a console. Inbuilt sensors within the medbay were at the ready, though they couldn't scan through the suit because of the jammers.

Dunn slightly hesitated, and it was not lost on Shepard, she was an N7 Commander after all, graduated at the top of her class. Things like a minor hesitation, she would notice and file away for later. He unclamped the SABRMod3 and TyphoonMod3 on his back, and set them down on the bench.

"I'll have a drone carry them down to the armoury," Shepard added.

A slow rumble, the sound of tinkling crystals filled the medbay. Alice watched in fascination as the suit split in hexagonal patterns and literally fade into the man within the suit. It was scary, unnerving an a little bit creepy, watching metal turn into normal flesh. He was wearing cargo-pants in the universal camouflage pattern, complete with sewed in knee pads, a grey shirt and knee-high boots with shin pads. It was the standard off-duty outfit for Deltas on rotation.

Shepard ran her azure blue eyes along the contours of Dunn's body, assessing his physical capabilities. He was tall, had a strong build, and his muscles were well defined, particularly his bulging biceps. Alice turned her eyes to Nomad's and saw a brief flicker of cobalt before it faded into a dark navy colour.

She had never seen anything like this; sure she had heard of passive cybernetic enhancements, but this, this was something else. Something beyond human entirely. It scared her.

"Jake," Alice began; unknowingly she had used his first name. No one had ever used his first name over the past century. She was the first. And when she realised she had used his first name, she noticed that Dunn's expression had softened from neutral to slight surprise. From there it was clear to her why.

"Is that… a Nanosuit?" Shepard asked.

Dunn nodded. "Yes ma'am."

She had only heard about them in her Academy days, suits that made men beyond human. She had seen concept arts of the suits from other N7 Recruits, but none came close to the real thing. None held the same aura, the same fear, the same awe as the real thing.

Alice couldn't believe that it hadn't crossed her mind earlier that Nomad was a Nanosuit Operator, _Delta _Force. It just goes to show what kind of air surrounded him.

The medbay's sensors performed their scans, and displayed them onto a nearby console. Shepard and Chakwas moved their seats to get a better look at the screen. It showed a faint biological outline of a well-built human male, but laced with metal elements, _nanites_.

Medical scans were all done in real time, so Shepard could see the flow of nano-bots flowing throughout Nomad's systems. Upon zooming into a muscle cell, it was evident that the nanites increased density and strength. Chakwas scrolled through a myriad of cells such as nerves, blood cells, etc. Everything about Nomad was enhanced beyond imaginable.

Chakwas was lost for words as she read through the scans repeatedly.

The Doctor then rotated to face Shepard, and give her a stern look. "Now, about your sleeping patterns, Commander."

"I've been getting enough sleep," Alice protested, raising both hands.

Chakwas arched an eyebrow, clearly not buying into Shepard's lie. But seeing there was another person in the area, the Doctor relented.

"You can go, but don't think you're off the hook. I don't want you collapsing of fatigue."

"Yes mum," Alice teased. It was a hollow tease at best considering what had happened.

Shaking herself out of deep thought, Alice pulled herself up out of the chair, and turned to see that Nomad was standing at the ready. His strict adherence to military protocol and routine was something that unnerved her. Sure the on board compliment of Marines held themselves in a disciplined manner, but that was really all show just in case a superior from the outsider was on board.

Dunn, it was as if protocol was a way of life for him, a strict code to live by. Alice found that to be tragic. He was dubbed an asset, and devoid of anything but professionalism.

"We'll this way to the kitchen," Alice said, trying to return everything to _normal_. But everything had changed after seeing the scans. She should've known better, anything with a fearsome reputation would always have a tragic element about them.

Shepard led Nomad into the mess hall, suddenly aware of her heavy footfalls, but the lack thereof from him. The eating area was quiet because of the hour, most of the crew were asleep, and the Marines would be busy with guard duty.

"Cook's not here, I could make something for you if you want?" Alice offered, her culinary skills were mediocre at best, nothing near the level of her mother's or any chef at a decent establishment.

"MRE will be fine," Nomad reassured.

To be honest, he couldn't really remember what food tasted like. It had been so long.

"No, it's okay, I'll whip something up," Shepard said. She might as well; she wanted to distract herself for a bit.

Alice led Nomad over to the kitchen and began to rummage through the fridge. Dunn decided to help by setting out the cooking utensils. Shepard could have the machines cook something, but the food always seemed lacking somehow. She found it better if another being cooked it themselves.

Gliding up and down the pristine metal floor, Shepard began to stack the ingredients on the counter. Nomad walked up to the stove in order to help with the cooking.

"I'll just make some chilli for us, okay?"

Dunn gave a curt nod. "It's your call, ma'am."

Washing her hands, Alice wrapped an apron around her fatigues and set to prepare the food. Dunn assisted in any way he could, and found that he enjoyed the mediocre task.

Sure he had cooked before, but most of those times he was struggling in the cold or being distracted by distant gunfire… and he was preparing an MRE more or less. By the time he got back, he just rather get food from the mess hall then get some shut eye – even though he didn't need to sleep.

"I'm going to be honest with you," Alice began, stirring the contents of the stove. "I know next to nothing about you, and seeing those scans, they scared the shit out of me."

Shepard's casualness with language and mood threw Nomad off instantly. He was always used to cold professionalism and military discipline. But when it came to Shepard, it seemed like those things were thrown out the window.

"Something bothering you?" she asked, noticing his hesitation.

"Nothing at all, ma'am."

"Jake," Alice patronised, tilting her head slightly and arching an eyebrow. She was using his first name again.

"I don't know if you have clearance," was all Dunn could say. For no real reason, he felt the need to go on the defensive. No one had taken an interest in his personal life for a very long time, not that he had one anymore. It was uncomfortable for Shepard to be prying… but he was starting to warm up to the idea.

"Okay," Shepard paused; rethinking her approach, let's try it this way. Alice focused her azure blue eyes upon Nomad's dark abyss. "If get clearance, will you tell me everything?"

Dunn mulled the statement over, averting his gaze away from Shepard's. He knew she had an impressive military record, he had heard stories about her. And he knew that she was the tip of the spear on the war against the Reapers. Everything Nomad knew could be crucial towards the war effort.

"Yes," he finally answered.

When the chilli was finished, Alice had Nomad pour the contents into the bowls, before going off to the COM room to get clearance. Dunn found it a bit much, but he could understand why. Shepard meant well to the people under her command. She wanted to know their ins and outs so that she could better protect them, and make sure they live to see another day.

Jake took the two bowls out of the kitchen and set them down on the metal table in the eating area. He quickly interfaced with a terminal wirelessly to change the channel on the overhanging TV screen. Somehow he found it fitting to switch to a cooking network which was currently showcasing asari cuisine.

Shepard returned a few moments later, judging from her body language, Dunn could tell that she had been granted full clearance. It was something he was going to dread. But if any of the rumours about Alice's leadership qualities were true, then Dunn wouldn't be the first one she had a good chat with.

Nomad stood from his seat, and snapped a crisp salute. Causing Alice to wear an incredulous look on her face.

"Ma'am."

"At ease," Shepard said, still surprised.

The two resumed their seats and began to tuck into their meals. For Alice, it wasn't half bad, but it did taste better than what the machines could cook up. Maybe it was because her effort went into making it. As for Dunn on the other hand, it was the best thing he had eaten in a very long time. The flavours that assaulted him were borderline euphoric,

"So, what's with the suit… or the implants, Jake?" Alice asked with an eyebrow raised. She wondered if the suit was him, or the other way around.

Nomad gazed at the contents of his bowl, aimlessly stirring the contents. He wasn't too sure if he should tell her. He had already made a few mistakes by revealing the Nanosuit to her, but then again, there are more important things.

She already got her clearance from Hackett, but still, Dunn wasn't too comfortable about telling her everything.

Breathing in deeply, Jake turned his eyes back onto Shepard. "The suit… changes everything. At first, it's just a suit, and then you bond with it. You and it become a symbiosis. Removal of the suit can kill you if you had suffered extensive injuries in it. But you wear it long enough; you and the suit become one."

Nomad's words were cryptic, they didn't flow, but at least they gave Shepard the information all she needed.

"So, you can wear something else if you wanted to, and still have the suit?" Alice asked.

Dunn answered with a slow nod. Having the suit merged into him, embedded into him, had granted him so many options of infiltration. Of course, like all Deltas, he preferred to have the suit form a shell _outside _of his body. It had no real impact on suit functionality except for the synthesised voice and aesthetic appeal.

He could defy all logic and walk into the vacuum of space with only a light fatigues, and return unharmed. That was what the suit offered, that was what the suit could do. It changed the rules, it changed the human body. Because, he is the suit, and neither one could be separated.

But what shocked Shepard the most was that Nomad, wasn't the only one. There were more out there, just like him. All of them, experienced hunters.

"Commander," it was Joker of the ship's intercom, "we've reached the Citadel, but I'm having trouble raising the Alliance. It's like the whole stations gone dark."

"I'm coming up Joker," Shepard said, placing her spoon into her bowl. She turned to face Dunn. "Jake, go down into the armoury, and prep your gear. I've got a bad feeling."

"Yes, ma'am."

**...**

Down in the hangar bay, Cortez was prepping the Kodiak while Dunn went through the assortments of weaponry on the racks.

The SCARMod5 Family served as the mainstay weaponry for Alliance Forces. Like all human weapons, they had built in hardware locks which prevented unwanted reverse engineering. The SABRMod3 was the all-round weapon used by Delta Force. The weapon was considered to be a Nanosuit gun because of its adaptive qualities and its ability to draw energy from the surrounding environment, thought it was unnecessary since it ran on a hydrogen fuel cell. Both families were were vastly different from the conventional weapons used by other species and mercenary groups.

Conventional Galactic Weapons had a store of metal which would be shaved off and fabricated into the bullet. The bullet would then be launched by the weapon's Mass Effect fields and the heat generated from this process would be transferred into a thermal clip.

Alliance Weaponry remained true to their twenty first century concept, and optimised bullets for size, range and velocity. Some of the more specialised munitions were similar to that of miniaturised AP-W Tank rounds. The bullets would have a store of an incendiary compound far more potent than thermite. Upon impact, the compound would be shot like a stream of jet into its target, furthering the damage, whilst the biotic field would pulverise what was left. Thanks to the Alliance's powerful economy and production facilities, these rounds could be mass-produced easily with little expense. A crate of these specialised rounds would be worth two crates of thermal clips.

The TyphoonMod3 had this type of ammunition as its default. This meant that the weapon possessed insane firepower. But because of the weapons sheer weight, it was usually issued to frontline shocktroop units or Delta Force.

Shepard had a crate of them in her arsenal, but she rarely used them. There was a small section reserved for Alice's weapons. She had a fully customised SCARABMod5, optimised for stability and accuracy, and a silenced M3D Predator Sidearm. A textbook loadout for a highly skilled N7 Fury.

Alerted to the ping of the elevator, Nomad saw Shepard and Vega rush out of the platform, fully armoured, and ran towards their weapons. It was apparent that James was the one that was the most wide awake, as everyone else was probably catching some more shut eye, and coming in later.

Vega opted to go with the SCAWMod5, the LMG variant of the SCARMod5 Family. He had kitted out the weapon for range, sustained firepower and stability. His secondary was the standard issue shotgun. It was evident that he would be the one providing fire support.

Nomad went with his usual, a SABRMod3, compound bow and a TyphoonMod3 as his mains, and a silenced Hammer 3 with extended magazine as backup. Perfect for any occasion.

Alice beckoned her team onto the Kodiak, Cortez was already on board spooling up the engines. As Dunn stepped onto the shuttle, he reengaged his suit's outer shell, encasing himself in the default NS3 Delta Force image. This caused Vega to have his eyes bulge out as he saw the smooth transition of flesh to metal.

"Hey, I was just as surprised the first time," Shepard said to James, "and you're going to catch flies like that."

The Lieutenant consciously made an effort to close his mouth before talking. "So Commander, what's the situation?"

Cortez slowly eased the shuttle out of the bay, and towards the Citadel.

"Old friend named Thane is on the Citadel, he says Cerberus has launched an all-out attack. They've crippled C-Sec, were going there first so they can have a fighting chance."

"That explains everything, Lola."

…

**PRESIDIUM, OUTSIDE OF C-SEC HEADQUARTERS**

The Allied forces on the Citadel were being ripped apart by the more organised Cerberus forces. The unmistakable sound of Cerberus weapons clashed with array of rifles through the air. Alliance Marines struggled to hold back the tide of gold and white as they were slowly dwindling in numbers.

Cortez pulled the shuttle up onto C-Sec HQ main landing pad, where dozens of C-Sec officers were struggling to retake the building with the Cerberus garrison inside.

Nomad didn't bother waiting for Shepard's orders. This was one of those times when self-initiative kicked in to lead the charge. Dunn launched himself out of the Kodiak in a blue stream of light. A group of Cerberus soldiers he connected with were hurled back by the thunderous biotic force. Some were unfortunate enough to go off the railings, while others had their ribs crushed as they slammed against the walls.

Dunn strung his bow and unleashed the explosive tipped arrow at a Cerberus squad setting up defensive positions behind a shield generator. The missile shot forward with a hiss and founds it mark, a split second later the fuse detonated and sent a powerful shockwave through the air, ripping apart the generator and hurling the troopers into the open.

By now, Shepard and Vega had touched down, and they were fanning out to the flanks to suppress any remaining Cerberus soldiers. Their weapons chattered and spewed out rounds which tore through the troopers like a blowtorch through paper.

Nomad switched to the TyphoonMod3, deciding to go for full-blown overkill. Field testing had shown that the Typhoon could easily rip through a krogan battlemaster in a split-second, what hope did Cerberus ground forces have? None.

The gun roared like a buzz saw, spewing out five-hundred rounds a second. The bullets left the barrel at blistering speeds, igniting the air around them and creating plasma in their wake. Cerberus troops couldn't even cry out before their body was turned into bloodied shreds.

Shepard found the display of marksman ship impressive, if not disturbing. She had never seen anyone use a Typhoon like an SMG before; the thought of it had barely crossed her mind. But right in front of her eyes, was a man who wielded the heavy weapon effortlessly.

As fast as Nomad roared into the battle, the fight was over. Surviving C-Sec officers regrouped around Commander Bailey who was busy opening the front door.

"Commander Shepard, good to see you," the Chief of C-Sec said happily. "Thank you for the assist… though I might need to get my hearing checked out after this."

The heavy dual doors parted open, and the people filed in. C-Sec officers quickly took up defensive positions around the front desk as Bailey proceeded to unlock the COM systems.

"Alright, I've set up a bypass network, that should stop our people from flying blind," Bailey said aimlessly.

"I'm looking for the Council," Alice said.

Bailey furrowed his brows. "Shepard to be honest, I don't even think that they're alive. Cerberus hit the Council chambers first, and hit it hard."

Shepard closed her eyes briefly; Kaiden was a Spectre, assigned to guard the Council. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her cousin.

"But if they're alive, they would be moving to the evac zone. I'll try and see if I can track them down for you. Just get going onto the main Presidium pathway, and I'll direct you from there."

**XXxxXX**

"_Meetin' up again in Lingshan… that was somethin'. Me, Jake and Laurence, honourin' our fallen brothers. Nomad took it the hardest, he saw a lot of good people die on that island."  
__**-Psycho**_

**XXxxXX**

**A/N: Well whaddya think? Please review.**


	3. Friends and Foes

**A/N: And we're back.**

**I feel like Shepard is an underplayed character in many Xovers…**

**XXxxXX**

"_War, it's something you don't talk about. You don't really want to talk about it with anyone but only with the people who were there or someone who really cared. Other than that, you don't really talk about it. Your partner, your kids, you never talk to them about it, unless they really asked. You just got back home and tried to move on. Our war with the Ceph was heavy but contained. Outside the warzones, life still continued on normally. If you were living in DC, you wouldn't even know about what was happening in New York unless you were listening to the news."  
__**-Colonel Thomas Dans**_

**XXxxXX**

**PRESIDIUM COMMONS, CITADEL, SERPENT NEBULA**

In an attempt to cut off Cerberus reinforcements while clearing out her approach, Shepard had sent her entire ground team – save for Nomad – to advance parallel on the other side of the Presidium. She had noticed his armour had morphed slightly to take on a less conspicuous look. The Nanosuit was still the dominant feature, but with the black colour scheme and red stripe, people would just assume he was an N7.

Alice glided around across the hall and held her position behind a fallen pillar. The N7 program had trained her into an excellent stealth tech savy and sans biotic Operative. She was the embodiment of Alliance tactics. She used drones to support her teammates and distract her foes while slinking quietly behind enemy lines to wreak all kinds of hell.

"_Nemesis on the top floor,"_ Shepard gestured. She knew that COMs were an available option, but she didn't want to risk it with the Cerberus engineers going all out.

"_I'll take the nemesis, and then the centurion,"_ Nomad signed in return. _"I'll handle the grunts while you knock out that turret."_

Nodding in agreement, Shepard readied herself. Dunn took up a firing position behind some smouldering crates and got a bead on the unsuspecting enemy sniper.

"_On your mark,"_ he waved.

Engaging cloak, Alice vaulted over the pillar and sprinted past the centurion and weaved her way around a milling squad. The moment she reached effective range, Alice sent a powerful overload which fried the turret's circuitry. A quick biotic blast was all it took to destroy the weapon and send the engineer crashing over the balcony.

"There she is!" a trooper roared.

Alice pivoted, raised her weapon and fired. A quartet of Cerberus troopers came to a crashing stop as their heads became exploding crimson fountains. A duo of guardians closed in on her, forcing her to find cover behind an overturned table.

The metal surface screeched and sparked in agony as AP rounds punched through and slammed into Shepard's shields. She rolled out of cover for a split second, just enough time to yank the shields out of the guardians' grasp with her biotics, before finishing them off with a burst to centre mass.

In less than a second, it was all over. Dunn emerged from his position, barrel smoking and surveyed the carnage that lay around Shepard. Nothing she did was in excess; everything was devoted to kill the enemy quickly and efficiently. If she could see his face, she would see an expression of approval from the Delta Operator.

"Garrus, situation," Shepard said into her mic.

"Uh, we're having some difficulty with the platoon of Atlases they've left here," the Turian grunted. "But we'll be fine. Garrus out."

"They must be busy," Alice shrugged. "C'mon."

She turned and jogged briskly down the hall, and made sure her sectors were clear before proceeding. Nomad shadowed her movement and made sure that nothing was to jump them but the jammers were rendering him blind. Prophet had always told him never to rely too much on the latest hardware, but Dunn had always griped that he liked to see well beyond what his eyes could see. And right now, he couldn't see beyond the walls of the corridors. He hated running "blind".

"Something wrong, Nomad?" Alice asked.

Jake shook his head lightly, and continued on.

"Shepard," it was Bailey, "I've managed to link up with Alenko. He says Cerberus is still in hot pursuit of him, and he's running low on ammo."

"We'll be there shortly."

The link was quickly terminated. Alice ran to the balcony and looked around. The layout of the Presidium would work in her favour. The overhanging platforms were arranged in a fashion that a skilled person can easily bypass a fixed checkpoint.

"Nomad, when's the last time you went free-running?" Shepard asked casually.

"Two months ago, ma'am," he answered.

Alice smirked under her helmet. "Follow me."

The moment she turned around, Shepard literally moved in a line of brilliant blue with Nomad following closely behind. She used her biotically enhanced abilities to jump onto balconies several stories higher, and cushion her free fall jumps. She moved as if it was an art form, gracefully vaulting herself over obstacles and leaping over long drops.

She felt her heart thump and her muscles burn as sweat beaded down her forehead. Alice propelled herself from the balcony and straight through a large window panel on the lower deck, closer to the lake.

"Shepard, incoming!" Nomad roared.

Alice flicked her eyes to the right just in time to see a ball of violet blue barrelling straight towards her. There wasn't enough time to duck, so she threw a biotic shield over herself just in time to take the brunt of the attack. But it wasn't enough. The man of oriental descent crashed into her, the momentum of his attack still carried enough force to send them toppling over the railings and crash onto the final bottom floor.

If it wasn't for her heart thumping in her ears, she would've been able to hear the soft trickling water of the Presidium Lake, though the man with the menacing ninjato sword was very distracting. He had a sinister grim expression, filled with confidence and arrogance. But like all master assassins, he didn't gloat. He raised his blade above his head, and pointed down. Without hesitation, he thrusted.

Alice quickly rolled away, and the blade embedded itself into the metal tile. She flipped back into balance using biotic abilities. She took a moment to quickly analyse the man. He was augmented with cybernetics, dressed in clothing similar to a drell, and was of oriental descent.

"Gun beats sword, _pal_," Shepard spat.

There was no such thing as playing fair in war. She quickly raised her weapon and fired. But the Cerberus assassin raised his palm and stopped the rounds with his shields. He smirked as the bullet halted in mid-air.

A split second later, Nomad landed to her right. Eldritch tendrils wrapped around his entirety, in his left he held a fearsome kukri knife and a pistol in his right. His stance was angled in a way that his blade was out in front while he held his sidearm over his left shoulder.

"Nomad, good to see you," the man smirked.

"Two against one Kai Leng," Dunn growled, "give it up."

Leng laughed. "No, now it's getting fun."

The Cerberus agent flexed his palm and fired an energy bolt at the Delta Operator. The round splashed and rolled harmlessly across Dunn's shields, but it served as a distraction. In less than it took the time for a heart to pulse, the entire air filled with phasic bolts. Out of sheer reflex, Shepard threw up a biotic shield and felt the impact reverberate through her body.

Nomad emptied his entire Hammer clip into Leng, and smiled in satisfaction as he saw the rounds rip through the assassin's shields and pierce his skin.

"You've got to do better than that," Kai growled.

He attacked with discipline and grace, his blade slicing through the air. But Dunn was just as fast if not faster. He dodged, ducked and parried every attack and stood firm. Leng closed in, but Jake managed to throw the assassin back with a biotic shockwave.

The Delta Operator holstered his weapons and extended two menacing blades from the base of his palms. Shepard wasn't too sure if the blade was _him_ or the _suit_, maybe both. He charged at Leng, biotic lightning danced along the blade, leaving a trail of blue in their wake. Dunn moved in a perfectly time fashion, fluid smooth and precise. He struck with devastating effect, forcing Leng to go on the defensive.

Shepard turned her attention to the Cerberus phantoms that appeared out of nowhere. They rushed her, palms outstretched and swords raised. This defied every logic ounce of reasoning in modern warfare. But then again, she was a biotic.

Alice targeted the first phantom with a Dark Channel. She waited until the rest were in range, and formed an Annihilation Field around herself. Deep violet tongues lashed out at her opponents. But before the phantoms could realise their fatal mistake, Shepard detonated. The powerful blast ripped everything around her off the ground and sent it off flying. Some phantoms were sent splashing into the water.

However, she was now on the cooldown, which left her vulnerable for a few precious seconds. More phantoms came charging, blades swinging. Shepard relied on her dual Omni-blades to fend off the attack. The orange hardlight instruments arced through the air as she parried the monomolecular blades.

Slapping a fresh magazine into her weapon, Alice fell back on her SOCP/Capoeira hybrid martial arts form. The lead phantom struck down, Shepard blocked with her rifle and knee stomped the Cerberus combatant. Upon hearing the sickening crack, Alice slammed the stock of her weapon into the phantom's visor, before back stepping and bringing her gun to bear. The SCARAB echoed in quick succession as the woman's head was reduced to a stew of blood, brain and metal.

Alice pivoted just in time to see another blade come straight for her, she barely sidestepped before she felt the sharp burn of the enhanced phasic blade bypass her shields and cut through the gap between her plates.

"Fuck," she swore as she saw blood gush out from her left shoulder.

Shepard ducked low, and swept the phantom's feet. The Cerberus combatant toppled over, leaving her vulnerable to an execution from the Spectre. Upon finishing the last phantom, Alice slapped medigel and smeared the concealing agent over her wound, before turning to face Nomad and Leng.

The two were at each other's throats, but Leng couldn't land a good hit. Dunn backstepped as Kai swung diagonally upwards with shocking force that it drained the shields completely. Another phase disruptor blast and Nomad was temporarily stunned. Leng stepped in and struck savagely, barely giving Dunn a moment to react. The blade missed his head, but ran home and true on his shoulder.

"Nomad!" Shepard roared.

A slight tilting motion allowed him to see what his CO was going to do. He jumped back, yanking the blade out of Kai's grip. Alice geared up for a full biotic attack. Her cells charged up with dark energy with violet tendrils sparking around her. She barely managed to catch a glimpse of Leng's shocked expression before the entire ground that lay in front of her was torn apart.

Leng flew through the air like a ragdoll, with Dunn playing marksman. He had his Typhoon out and ready to play and sent hundreds of rounds down range. Dozens of rounds scored hits on the Cerberus assassin before he splashed into the water, never to surface again.

Out of Commander's premonition, Shepard quickly jogged over to Dunn and assessed his injuries. His armour was heavily scarred and battered, but already repairing itself in a spectacular fashion.

"He'll be back," Dunn said grimly.

He turned to face Alice and spotted her wounds.

"I'm fine," she said, raising a palm before he could say anything. "You on the other hand." She gestured to the ninjato still embedded in his right shoulder.

"I'll be fine, ma'am," Dunn said.

She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. The Captain wrapped his right fingers around the hilt, and wrenched the blade out of his flesh with a wet _shunk_ sound. Alice watched in amazement as the wound quickly closed while the suit resealed itself. She looked at the blade in his grasp, and saw his blood catch on fire.

_Incineration, leave no trace_, Shepard concluded.

"Yours if you want it," he offered.

Alice reached out and held the sword. It was perfectly weighted and shaped, optimised for both slashing and stabbing.

"I don't have a scabbard though," Shepard frowned.

"I'll hold onto it," Nomad suggested.

She handed him back the blade and watched in fascination as the suit created a "pocket" for the sword. He slid the ninjato into the temporary scabbard and gave a curt nod.

"On your go."

The two moved warily along the war torn Presidium, and hugged the smouldering storefronts. Shepard had to stop periodically to allow her cloak to cycle through. Thanks to Kasumi, the cloak would be active for a few minutes before needing a few seconds to recharge.

"We're closing in on the Council," Dunn said, hearing the amplified audio of distant gunfire.

"Okay, let's clear out Cerberus."

Shepard landed on the main landing of the balcony first, followed closely by Nomad. Instinctively, he moved in front of her as he knew she "lacked" defensive capabilities. They followed the trail of strewn bodies, both C-Sec and Cerberus alike. Every so often, they would find the body of an Alliance Officer with either a bullet through their head or a stab wound. But the ratio between dead friendlies and dead enemies was heavily imbalanced. Some Cerberus soldiers appeared to be ripped apart by biotics or power kicked into a wall. If Alice recalled correctly, melee battles weren't Kaidan's thing nor was he this strong.

The number of destroyed Atlas's wasn't something that could be ignored either. One was tough, Shepard could barely hold her own at two. Unless the Councillors had a veteran elite infantry company with them, Alenko must've gotten upgrades.

"Something wrong, Shepard?" Dunn asked.

"A lot of dead Cerberus troops here," Shepard said. "Kaidan's not the type to do a suicidal last stand. Something's not right."

Stuffing her doubts away, the two Special Forces soldiers navigated their way through the cafés and store fronts overlooking the lake. It was clear Cerberus had hit hard and fast as there were patrons killed in the very spot they had lunch.

"Cloak up," Nomad whispered.

The two faded from sight and glided down the hall. A distinct sound of a TyphoonMod2 LMG echoed in the distance.

"I've got two engineers on the other side of that door. Five snipers on the floor above," Dunn whispered, looking at his sensors.

"Okay, I'll take the snipers; you take the engineers and provide whatever support you can for the Council."

"Yes ma'am."

Alice retraced her steps back to the stairs, confidant that Dunn would be able to handle himself.

"I've hacked their turrets and communications, Shepard."

She could hear a bit of mirth in his voice, followed by the high-pitch grind of multiple turrets. The Spectre hacked her way through the door of the apartment and gave a sigh of relief when the doors whispered open. Training kicked in and adrenaline flooded her blood streams.

_No trip wires, no sensors. Good._

Alice moved to the balcony where a Cerberus unit was firing down on an unseen position which she presumed to be the Councillors. She threw up a singularity field, plucking the troopers off the floor. Rushing in with an Annihilation Field, the unshielded Cerberus soldiers screamed as they were burned to a crisp by dark energy.

She curbed stomped the closest nemesis in the knee and barely heard the joint snap. Alice finished the sniper off with a head shot before moving to lash a Centurion over the ledge. The man toppled over the railing and screamed to his death.

Detonating her Annihilation Field, the rest of the troops on the balcony where slammed into the railings and died on impact.

…

The first thing the turrets had targeted was their engineer "masters". The support units barely stood a chance against their own devastating fire power. Bursting through the doors, Dunn assessed the courtyard below. There were four Atlas Mechs, six Mako tanks sporting Cerberus colours, and an insurmountable number of Cerberus soldiers. They were all gunning in on this one position, manned by a lone soldier.

_Sykes?_

The former British SAS was wearing riot gear over his Nanosuit, probably to disguise himself or offer additional protection. But from the looks of it, the C-Sec riot gear looked like it had taken on more than enough beating.

"Psycho?" Dunn keyed in.

"Nomad, good to hear from you mate. Could use a hand with these fucking muppets," the voice still had an element of the cockney accent.

"Copy, coming in."

Dunn flipped himself over the ledge and trained his eyes on the Atlas at the rear of the formation. Without hesitation, he propelled himself on a blue beam of light and slammed home. The large mech shuddered under the thunderous impact, the pilot was slight dazed from being bounced around. Jake didn't let any of them recover as he quickly punched through the canopy and ripped the trooper out.

Commandeering the mech, Nomad spun the gun to bear on the Mako to his left and opened fire. The rockets left the launcher and ploughed into the hull section just above the wheel, ripping apart the axel. But the tank was still function as it brought its gun turret to bear. But Dunn already had his cannons trained and opened fire. The Mako's hull groaned as it was ripped apart and showered the area in shrapnel.

Seeing all enemy guns pointed at him, Nomad threw himself out of the mech and biotically charged the next. The air around him sounded like angry bees as bullets whipped all around him. But at least he brought Psycho the precious opening he needed.

Sykes propelled himself in a beam of cobalt, and brought is knee into an Atlas's canopy. Like Nomad, he ripped the pilot out and took over the vehicle to wreak havoc. It was a long process of jumping, bailing and hijacking which eventually allowed them to turn the tide.

Shepard' biotic artillery-esque support was invaluable as she plucked Cerberus soldiers off from the ground and let gravity take care of the rest. All that was left in the courtyard were bloody stains and twisted metal.

Using her biotics, Alice landed onto the artificial grass and jogged over to the two Nanosuit Operators.

"Psycho, Shepard," Dunn introduced, "Shepard, Psycho."

"Nice to meet you," Shepard gave a curt nod.

"Pleasure," Sykes replied in equal fashion.

"Where's the Council?" Alice asked.

"Up with Prophet and the Alenko chap," Michael gestured. "They've headed to the landing pad. I offered to hang back and cover the rear."

Shepard looked at the two men, then back to the carnage and pursed her lips as a sign of approval. Readying her weapon, she gestured for them to move out.

"I don't about you mate, but that back there is fucking flawless," Sykes grinned.

Dunn looked back at the courtyard before entering the elevator. "I guess," he shrugged.

"Wasn't talking about the courtyard, mate," he whispered.

It soon dawned on Nomad what his friend was saying. "No, just… no."

Sykes laughed, "Still got it."

"Got what?"

"Being able to crack that stoic exterior of yours."

Dunn felt the elevator lurch as it climbed to the upper floors. The glass doors slid open upon reaching the destination. Jake assessed the situation. It was a skycar port, most of the vehicles had been destroyed and were still smouldering, shattered glass and bodies were strewn over the pavement.

"Cerberus Gunships did a flyby 'ere," Psycho said. "Before we got here."

"Can you raise the others?"

"I'm tryin' Nomad… okay, I got a signal," Sykes opened the network so Dunn could join in. "Prophet, sitrep?"

"Shuttle's destroyed," came the reply, "Alenko and I have moved the Council into an apartment room. Meet us there."

"Copy that, we're goin' to ya."

"_We_?"

"Nomad and Shepard."

The link was promptly terminated as the three soldiers moved towards the vulnerable council. It looked like Prophet had done a significant amount of work keeping Cerberus assassins at bay. There were at least a dozen phantoms and dragoons all with some kind of grievous bodily wound.

"Prophet, it Psycho," Sykes called out, "open up!"

An apartment block door opened at the end of the hallway, Prophet decloaked and revealed himself to group, beckoning them to come hither.

…

Upon entering the apartment – turned makeshift mini fort – Shepard felt a bit overwhelmed by the presence of three Nanosuit Operators. Apparently Prophet and Psycho had been keeping a low profile and shadowed Alenko until things got a bit to hairy for the lone Spectre to handle. She felt like she was in the presence of gods, and the tired look on Kaidan's face said the same.

"I ran into Leng, sir," Dunn said.

"Shit," Prophet swore. "Bastard still alive?"

"Probably," Jake gestured towards Alice, "she blasted him into the water, but I don't think he's dead."

"We'll worry about the little shite later," Psycho interrupted, "let's get out of here before more Cerberus bastard show up."

It was clear to Alice already that the former SAS Commando had quite a "colourful" vocabulary. He was a stark contrast to Nomad whom she found to be quiet and reserved. Still, it was a bit discomforting to hear a deep computer-synthesised voice swear with so much emotion.

"Alice, good to see you again," Kaidan smiled. He had that tired and wild look in his eyes, as if he couldn't care less that there were three Hunters of Shanxi standing in the same room as he is. The Turian Councillor on the other hand continued to eye the grey-black clad men suspiciously.

"You too," Shepard sighed in relief as she eased her helmet off, "I thought…"

"It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me," Kaidan joked.

Alice's COM squawked, it was Garrus. "Shepard, we've cleared out all Cerberus troops on our end. Spirits you two move fast… anyway, C-Sec is inbound to your location."

"Copy that, keep me posted. Out."

"Garrus?"

Shepard nodded.

"Oh, good," Kaidan smiled, "think I'm going to join you. Last I heard, Spectres don't play full-time bodyguard."

Alice chuckled. Post-combat talks were always the most hear warming… and the strangest at times.

"I'd be happy to have you back on board."

"Just like old times, huh?"

**XXxxXX**

"_The Turian Military follows a code of honour which makes them excellent fighters though unbelievably predictable. But at least they don't strap bombs to mothers like batarian pirates."  
__**-Lieutenant Phillip Gazeau, N7**_

**XXxxXX**

**A/N: If you haven't noticed it, I'm hinting that Leng is a former Nanosuit Operator.**

**And no, Udina is nicht traitor… because Earth hasn't been taken by the Reapers (I think I've mentioned that earlier though, or at least hinted at it).**

**Anyway, please leave a review… the whole lot of you.**


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